


Haunted House

by Kioee



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M, aren't you excited, i know i am, look a special cute halloween fic for this pairing, that may be biased seeing as i wrote it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-30
Updated: 2013-10-30
Packaged: 2017-12-30 22:57:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1024384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kioee/pseuds/Kioee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nagisa drags the group to a haunted house. As they break up into pairs, Nagisa grabs the wrong hand and Rin and Rei go in together. And Rei gets scared easily.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Haunted House

How did Nagisa always manage to get him to do things like this? Rei looked past the line of people waiting to venture into the decrepit-looking house. He was not a fan of haunted houses. Having people jump out at him unexpectedly was not on his list of things that gave him enjoyment. But Nagisa begged for everyone to come along and since the only one who seemed to share Rei’s reluctance was Makoto, there wasn’t much headway in choosing a different Halloween activity.

The line moved forward and Rei noticed everyone going inside in pairs. It was a good thing their group was an even number. Rei didn’t want to think about the chance of getting paired off with some stranger. The group got to the entrance and it was time to decide how to pair off. Haru offered to go in with Makoto, being the only person who seemed able to calm him down in situations like these. Rin was about to take his sister’s hand when Mikoshiba beat him to it. A scowl formed on his face as he watched his sister and team captain run excitedly into the building. This left Rin, Nagisa, Nitori and Rei waiting for their turn.

“Come on, Rei-chan! It’ll be fun. I promise!” Without looking, Nagisa grabbed the closest hand to him and the two entered the house. Rin and Rei looked at each other then at Nitori who seemed too surprised by being grabbed and dragged to inform Nagisa of his mistake. The door closed and Rei wondered if this was the best outcome. He didn’t know how Rin dealt with haunted houses. He knew Nagisa would be the type to laugh anytime Rei jumped, and would probably just try to scare Rei even more. But, he thought, knowing what he was getting into ahead of time might be preferred.

The door opened once again and the two boys stepped inside. Rei was disoriented by the sudden darkness when the door closed behind them. It was eerily quiet and the two stood still, unsure about moving forward in the pitch darkness. Suddenly lights flashed and two actors jumped in front of them. Rei let out a shout as he jumped. Rin flinched at the unexpected movement, but otherwise looked unimpressed. It was now just light enough to see and Rin beckoned for Rei to move forward with him.

They passed a few more actors who lunged at them and muttered generic threats and Rei was a mess. He was starting to sweat and his heart was beating fast. He felt like he couldn’t breathe, and as each actor gave their performance, Rei had to stop and press up against a wall, or jump behind a chair. Rin was growing impatient at having to wait for Rei to compose himself after each scare. Turning a corner another actor jumped out and this time Rei clung to the back of Rin’s jacket and buried his face in the fabric.

“I can’t do this.”

“Here,” Rin said as he offered his hand. “This way, you don’t need to stop each time and we can keep moving forward and I can warn you if someone is about to pop out.”

“How do you know if someone is going to jump out at us before they do so?”

Rin rolled his eyes. “Because I pay attention.”

They moved forward and soon Rei felt Rin squeeze his hand and move in front of him as another actor jumped out, this time with a fake saw. Rin’s thumb rubbed light circles against the skin of Rei’s hand as he felt the other boy tense up. He gently tugged at Rei to move forward and Rei found himself giving little resistance to moving forward. They progressed the rest of the way through the house and Rei found himself becoming less anxious as he focused on Rin and their hands pressed together. Eventually, Rei realized that his quickened heartbeat was less due to being afraid and more due to the boy holding his hand, comforting him and protecting him. He was surprised at how comforting Rin’s presence could be. He squeezed his hand and Rin reacted by moving to shield Rei. When nothing popped out at them he turned and raised an eyebrow.

“What was that for? I thought you had seen something.”

Rei was glad for the dim lighting as he felt his cheeks heat up and was sure a visible blush was spreading. “I just wanted to thank you.”

“It’s nothing.”

“No. I’m very grateful. You could have simply laughed at my fear, but instead you wanted to help me.”

“That’s what friends do.”

“Nagisa wouldn’t have.”

“Nagisa is a brat.”

Rei laughed at Rin’s now annoyed face. “I still really appreciate your comfort and your patience with me. Especially considering I tend to cling to you when something pops out at us.”

“Yeah, well it’s not so bad having you cling to me.” Rin looked away and seemed focused on some dark corner they were approaching, determinedly avoiding looking at Rei.

“I know how you feel about your personal space, so I do appreciate you saying that.”

“I don’t mind you being in my personal space.” Rin rubbed his thumb against Rei’s hand again and added, “I kind of like you being in my personal space.”

“Oh.”

“I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable and I understand if you don’t want me holding your hand anymore.”

“No, I, uh, like you in my personal space as well.”

An ear-splitting shriek shook both boys out of their focus and they grabbed onto each other.

“I thought you said you paid attention!”

“I was a little preoccupied, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

The actor that had jumped out at them cackled as she slunk back into the shadows and the two boys composed themselves and found the exit in their next few steps. The others were waiting for them and Nagisa ran over.

“I’m so sorry, Rei-chan, I thought I grabbed your hand! We were about halfway through the house before I realized it was Ai-chan with me.”

Rei smiled at his friend. “It’s alright, Nagisa. It was fine being in there with Rin.”

“Oh good!” Nagisa turned to everybody. “Now who wants to come to my house and watch scary movies?”

Makoto groaned. “I think we’ll pass,” said Haru.

“I love scary movies!” said Nitori. 

“That sounds fun.” Mikoshiba smiled and added, “Will you be there, Gou-kun?”

“Okay!” A grin fell from her face. “And don’t call me that.”

“What about you two? Rei-chan? Rin-chan?”

Rin was glaring in Mikoshiba’s direction. “Yeah, I’ll come.”

Rei shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t know.”

“You have to come! You can’t be a party pooper like Haru-chan and Mako-chan!”

Rin smiled at him. “You should come.” He leaned and whispered in Rei’s ear. “If you get scared, you can always hold my hand.”

It seemed that the scary things now came with a great perk.

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt from toxixpumpkin on tumblr: Nagisa makes the group go to a haunted house where you go in pairs. Nagisa accidentally grabs Ai in his excitement which means Rei and Rin have to go through the house together. When they are in the haunted house Rei keeps jumping and hiding which slows them down so Rin offers his hand to Rei to hold for comfort so they can get out faster. Even better Rin always shields Rei from workers that jump out to scare them.


End file.
